Needless to say, I turned them down flat. No point in even considering it.
Still, I have to admit—I felt a little relieved. Thanks to that one line of his snapping me out of it, I realized I’d been spiraling into all sorts of ridiculous, messy thoughts.
If I can’t see the person I can lean on, then there’s no reason for me to keep living. Might as well just drop dead right here.
I wonder how Lady Cleriol is doing now… She’s probably forgotten all about me by now, huh—
No, no. Can’t jump to conclusions that easily. It’s only been… let’s see, one, two, three, four? Just five days? If this were back home, I’d have been beaten black and blue by my parents by now.
But that’s not something I can do anymore, either.
Ignoring the goblin’s persistent nagging, I made my way over to the giant beastman and sat down in front of him—just like I did when I first met Cletie—and set up a small, informal meeting.
“So, what exactly are you trying to say?” I figured it’d be better if I threw out the first question, even though he clearly hadn’t planned on answering me earlier.
The giant beastman’s eyes were full of surprise too—probably never expected me to make a move like this. He glanced away, as if consulting with his companions.
“…Sigh. Thank you, for not killing us.” I couldn’t tell if it was a verbal tic or just a habit, but he spoke in choppy, stilted bursts—like someone texting with awkward spaces between every word. It got on my nerves.
A long stretch of silence followed. The giant beastman dithered for what felt like forever, but in the end, he couldn’t hold it in and spoke up. With his peculiar way of talking, it took me forever to piece together most of what he said—
They were a sub-unit of the beastman army, tasked with siege operations and stronghold capture. Originally, they were supposed to follow their commander’s orders and enter through Feltro’s south gate to secure the southern part of the city.
They refused. That’s why this operation ended in failure.
He explained that the beastman army had long since strayed from its original purpose, so they’d secretly defected about a month ago. But one of their subordinates turned out to be a spy for the commander, and right before the assault on Feltro began, the commander dispatched another unit to wipe out their squad. They took heavy losses—but because those forces were split off, the main battlefield at Feltro didn’t go so well for the army either.
To recover, they had no choice but to retreat into Quin Forest to evade pursuit—
“So that’s why you’re here… And your reason for betraying the main force?” I gave up on questioning the giant beastman and turned instead to the priest who’d tried to hypnotize me earlier.
“The commander changed. He’s not the same as before. We just wanted to reclaim what was rightfully ours. But as city after city was destroyed… I felt it. Agute told us too—the commander had changed…” The priest cowered with every word, trembling every time he mentioned the commander.
I almost wanted to laugh, but now wasn’t the time. Had to keep a straight face.
“Yeah, go on.” I could tell the priest was looking at me kind of strangely. Ahh, never thought I’d see the day I’d be treated like this by beastmen.
I listened quietly as the priest continued their story, and before I knew it, I was completely drawn in—
Year 741 of the Calendar · Elven Forest
Scorching flames erupted from the roots of the vines. Several beastmen as tall as city walls smashed through the barrier—the buffer zone was long gone. The beastmen had already entered the elven homeland…
Blades clashed, spells flew—elves gave everything they had to protect their home.
This was another great battle to fend off invaders—but it certainly wouldn’t be the last.
To resist the infantry assault, the elves donned armor and took up swords. To neutralize the giant beastmen, they coordinated flawlessly. To secure victory, they prayed for power.
The priest and his giant beastman captain stood in their captured stronghold, silently watching the scene unfold in the distance—and I stood behind them, quietly witnessing it all…
A horrifying picture gradually took shape. Though the battle ended in an elven victory, everyone knew this was only temporary—it wouldn’t end here.
That same year, the beastman army—now further strengthened—destroyed the hub city of Amalek, which connected Clovertt and Darkdy. When the elves caught wind of this, they planned to relocate the Elven Forest’s position. But a spy hidden in the shadows leaked the information, and the second battle broke out ahead of schedule.
Neither side was prepared, so it wasn’t as fierce as expected—perhaps the battle wouldn’t cause too many casualties. That’s what the priest thought. But as he watched the forest slowly catch fire, that notion vanished…
Everyone paid a price. This battle brought even heavier losses than the first.
And it was on that very day that the priest and the giant beastman captain first sensed something off—a strange unease emanating from deep within the army.
That unease lingered—until it finally took concrete form a month ago.
“So according to you, you used to admire your commander quite a bit?”
“…Mm. Yes.” They all answered in unison—though I noticed everyone hesitated for a moment before responding, except for that goblin.
The goblin’s clenched fists were trembling slightly. Combined with the look on his face, he seemed to harbor a deep disgust for the commander.
“No. That’s not it.” The goblin spoke softly, but his expression didn’t ease one bit. I could almost see him looking back on his own miserable past…
But silence comes at a cost—and speaking up brings its own set of consequences—
I rested my forehead on my hand, my expression growing complicated.
I’d seen situations like this countless times before—and each time, it ended with the person involved losing face completely.
I needed to trace everything back to the root. Get to the bottom of it. I always get so caught up in other people’s stories that I forget the most fundamental question.
“What are you all actually trying to do?” I looked them over carefully—they were still cowering. “I said I’d spare your lives. But this one here…”
After a long round of persuasion, the giant beastman and his comrades finally calmed down—though the goblin remained as he was.
“We mean no harm. Since you have given your word.” The giant beastman made it clear that they just wanted to survive. Hmm, is it okay to use “goal” instead of “purpose” here? Probably not.
I stood up, brushed the dust off my skirt, and turned to leave—but someone grabbed my hand. I looked back—it was the goblin. This time, he didn’t seem as timid as before. His expression was almost… confident.
Confusion filled my mind. I tried to pull my hand away, but he held on tight.
“What are you doing?” I said, still trying to free myself. Slowly, my patience began to fray.
“No, I mean no harm either. I just hope you’ll keep your promise, Master.” He said this strange, out-of-nowhere line so naturally that even I felt bewildered.
“I already said I’d let you go! Isn’t that enough?!”
“Master, Master. Please think carefully about what you just said.” Like he was reminding a clueless fool, the goblin spoke with a look that made my blood boil.
What did I just say?! Didn’t I say “I’ll spare your lives”?! Are you trying to play word games with me?!
I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself down for the sake of negotiation.
“Right. You said you’d spare our lives, didn’t you?”
“Yeah! So what?!”
I was about to keep yelling—but then I thought about it, and my anger cooled in an instant.
I did say that line: “I’ll spare their lives.” And yes, he caught me on that wordplay. There was no trap set, no deliberate bait—it was just my own slip-up…
I’d specified a protective action that included myself. If I’d just said “I won’t hurt you,” this wouldn’t have happened.
“…Ughhh! Fine, fine, I get it!! I’ll protect you until you leave the Meditation Corridor, alright?!”
Looks like I still have a lot to learn.
“The Meditation Corridor? No way! Master, you said—”
I was too tired to keep arguing, so I locked eyes with the goblin and used physical intimidation to shut him up.
You have no leverage to bargain with me. If anyone here has any pull, it’d be that giant beastman—and even he can’t beat me.
“Either I break my word and you die, or you accept my terms and live.”
The goblin’s mouth hung open, staring blankly at me. After a long, hesitant moment, he finally nodded shakily and went back to the giant beastman’s side.
I’d rashly promised to see them safely out of the Meditation Corridor, but in a place like this, even I could kick the bucket in an instant. And there’s no way I can babysit a bunch of dead weights when I can barely handle myself.
I scratched my head, which was starting to itch with frustration. I really hate being held accountable for my own loose words. If only time could rewind…
“Yeah, right. Like that’s ever gonna happen, you idiot.”
“Huh? Master, are you muttering to yourself?”
“Nothing. And don’t go calling me ‘Master’ like it’s natural.”
I shoved the goblin away as he tried to get closer and walked off to think—
Hmm, if I cast [Omnipotent Concealment]… No, there are too many of them, and that giant beastman’s too bulky. The spell’s effect wouldn’t last long. Damn it, why do I always speak without thinking? Is it just a habit now? I was so careful back then…
Crap, crap, crap! In that case, I’ll have to rely on them to defend themselves.
I turned to look at them… The fighters—aside from that goblin—were still worn out. The big guy was barely standing after the beating I just gave him—
Arghhh!! This is such a waste!!
Suddenly, someone tapped me on the shoulder. “Wahh—who’s there?!” I yelped. When I turned around and saw it was that goblin again, I nearly lost it and clenched my fist.
“Master, what’s got you so worried?”
“What do you think?! You’re all either injured or exhausted, and the biggest walking tank here is still recovering from getting wrecked by me just now! Ughh!!”
“If you’re worried about our safety, you don’t actually need to go that far.”
“Huh?”
“I can use natural concealment magic myself. And the High Priest still has his elemental totems and mana. Even the captain, whom you just injured, can recover his strength in a short time. So we can protect ourselves. Please don’t worry too much, Master.”
As he proudly told me all this, the goblin’s face was full of pride—like… no, not her.
“I see. Then let’s rest for a while. Let me know when you’re ready.”
Everything about them carried a sense of pent-up impulse, magnified over time. It swelled and swelled, finally blooming thirty days ago—and now, it withered here.
What does it mean that I’ve taken them in?
I look forward to sending the one pulling the strings a gift of “Black Lily” and “Roses of Ruin.”
I’ll hang his—or their—heads before my grave. Only then can I rest in peace.
